10. WWE Championship: Triple H (c) vs. Edge vs. Vladimir Kozlov - 2008
To get this out of the way, I don't consider this to be a great match. There aren't that many World Title matches in Survivor Series history for each to be a standout. This just makes the list over matches like Cena/ADR, Angle/Taker, Cena/Jericho and a short list of others. Now, this match was originally scheduled to be Triple H defending against Jeff Hardy and Vladimir Kozlov, but early in the show, it was announced that Jeff was found unconscious in his hotel. This led to HHH and Kozlov having a match that was kind of just there. Then, Vickie Guerrero showed up and announced that "he" was here. The crowd popped for Jeff, but got a returning Edge instead. Jeff still showed up and got involved, but it all ended with Edge capturing the WWE Title. So yea, this wasn't a great match and it had a seriously convoluted ending, but as a huge Edge fan, this is one of my favorite Survivor Series moments.
9. WWF Championship: Mankind vs. The Rock - 1998
A decade before our previous entry, Survivor Series featured a giant one night tournament to crown a new WWF Champion. After some controversial finishes at Breakdown and Judgment Day the past two months, a fourteen man tournament was put together at Survivor Series: Deadly Game. A lot of people expected Steve Austin to end up as champion again, but when he went out (through more controversial terms), it opened the door. The finals came down to Mankind, a sympathetic character despite being aligned with Vince McMahon, and the Rock, fresh off of a babyface turn. On a show filled with quick matches, Rock and Mankind got the most time and managed to have a good match. Granted, their future matches were more memorable but this was a solid start. It ended with a repeat of the infamous Montreal Screwjob as Rock turned heel to become the "Corporate Champion" and plant the seeds for the first Rock/Austin WrestleMania bout.
8. WWF Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Sycho Sid - 1996
The 1996 edition of Survivor Series is my second favorite in the history of the show. The Madison Square Garden crowd was molten hot and that was possibly never clearer than in the main event. Shawn Michaels reigned as the WWF Champion, which he won back in March of 1996, and faced his former bodyguard, Sid. This is one of the earliest times I can recall the crowd being very positive in the direction of the heel. The New York crowd wanted almost nothing to do with Michaels and were firmly behind Sid, giving this a unique feel. There are certainly some missteps in the match, but it is the best one I've ever seen SId have. He would take out Jose Lothario and then Michaels to win the belt and earn a massive pop from the crowd.
7. WWE Championship: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. CM Punk - 2011
Oh look, another Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden. In 2011, CM Punk was the hottest thing in all of pro wrestling following his infamous promo in Las Vegas. He would defeat John Cena in one of my all-time favorite matches at Money in the Bank to become WWE Champion. Then SummerSlam came, Kevin Nash appeared and Alberto Del Rio cashed in to take the belt. Del Rio feuded with John Cena while Punk was relegated to afterthought status, taking a loss as the next two Pay-Per-Views. Finally, the WWE righted the ship and Punk faced Del Rio for the title at Survivor Series. These two almost always had good matches and this was no different. Punk won the title for a second time with the Anaconda Vise, kickstarting a 434 day reign that is my favorite in company history.
6. WWE Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. Shawn Michaels - 2007
The first of two matches from this edition of the Survivor Series again sees the WWE Championship on the line. After being handed the title, losing it minutes later and winning it back the same night, Randy Orton could finally start the "Age of Orton". At his first Pay-Per-View with the belt, Cyber Sunday, Shawn Michaels was chosen by the fans as his opponent. Orton retained via disqualification, setting the stage for this rematch. If Orton got DQed, he would lose the belt and Michaels was banned from using Sweet Chin Music. They worked around that very well and produced their best match together that I can recall. Orton was able to retain the title, which he would for another five or so months. It was another instance of Michaels doing hsi best to help get someone over rather than win the title for himself.
5. WWE Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H - 2009
Three of the greatest of all time competed in this WWE Championship match. Coming off of a lengthy feud with Randy Orton where they traded the belt, John Cena needed a new opponent. What he got was the tandem of D-Generation X in a Triple Threat match. I feel like this is a pretty overlooked match despite having some of the strongest name power in history. I loved the start of this as Shawn MIchaels just laid out Triple H with Sweet Chin Music, showing that the WWE Title meant more than their team and friendship. It was something that just showed how important the belt was. The rest of the match gave us cool moments and false finishes while being excited until the very end, which saw Cena retain.
4. World Heavyweight Championship Hell in a Cell: Batista (c) vs. The Undertaker - 2007
In 2007, Batista and Undertaker waged war during a rivalry that was miles better than I ever thought it would be. I remember not being excited at the prospect of this feud but they had a great match at WrestleMania and continued to deliver throughout the year in various match types. Their final fight would be inside the Hell in a Cell at Survivor Series. It wasn't their best match, but damn it was great. These two just had a chemistry that not a lot of people have with each other. Edge would end up getting involved in this match before Batista retained his title. Despite his involvement, this was a great capper to an even better rivalry.
3. WWF Championship: Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels - 1992
People love to talk about the rivalry between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels and some call it the greatest ever. I strongly disagree with that notion. Yea, they had some legit personal heat but I didn't love most of their matches. I thought the WrestleMania 12 and Survivor Series 1997 matches were okay but this one is the best by a fair amount. Growing up, the 1992 Survivor Series was an event that I rented very often from my local video store, so I've seen this match tons of times. Michaels came in as the Intercontinental Champion but only Bret's recently won WWF Title was on the line. This was a great match that helped to show that Bret Hart was going to be a great champion and that Shawn Michaels was going to be a major player.
2. WWF Championship: Diesel (c) vs. Bret Hart - 1995
Maybe I like this match more than some but dammit, I love this. Actually, almost every match between Bret Hart and Diesel was great but this was my favorite. For one thing, it was the first one of their Pay-Per-View encounters to have an actual finish. For another, Diesel was coming up on a year as champion and looking pretty dominant. Enter Bret Hart, who unjustly spent most of the year in the midcard. He came into the match as a desperate challenger and it showed as he busted out heel tactics. From tying Diesel up in the corner, to bringing a steel chair into play, Bret was fantastic. Diesel more than held his own as always and put Bret through the announce table, which was the earliest announce table bump I can recall. Bret played possum to pull Diesel into an inside cradle and win the belt. Despite all of the heel tactics from Bret, it was a frustrated Diesel that turned heel coming out of this.
1. World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber: Triple H (c) vs. Booker T vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Shawn Michaels - 2002
We've seen a ton of Elimination Chamber matches in the past thirteen years but none have topped the original for me. Eric Bischoff came up with the concept of the Elimination Chamber, which is honestly one of my favorite gimmick matches in the WWE. The original headlined Survivor Series 2002 in Madison Square Garden and featured six future Hall of Famers. These guys went out and put on a tremendous match for nearly forty minutes featuring almost everything you would want. Kane had an MVP level performance, doing it all. Booker T and Chris Jericho more than held their own throughout this match. Rob Van Dam nearly killed Triple H at one point, and Triple H still made it to the end of the match, culminating in an epic showdown. A few months earlier, Shawn Michaels made his return and beat Triple H in a classic Street Fight at SummerSlam, only for Triple H to attack him with a sledgehammer and take him back out. Shawn returned and it came down to them two, with Shawn winning the World Title for the final time in his career to end a phenomenal match.
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